Issue No.14 / October 2022
Ingeus partners with The Body Shop to remove barriers to work
What’s inside...
Page 2 Don’t let type 2 diabetes creep up on you
Page 4 FutureYou out and about in Greater Manchester
Ingeus is partnering with retail giant The Body Shop to make a real difference to people’s lives. We’re working with The Body Shop to deliver its Open Hiring recruitment practice, creating jobs quickly and easily for people who might normally struggle to find work. Issue no.14 / October 2022
Under the Open Hiring recruitment model, there is no formal interview process – just three simple eligibility questions for each candidate. If they answer yes to all three, they get a job as a Customer Consultant at The Body Shop – in some cases, within 24 hours! This is a real lifeline for people who may have certain barriers such as a disability or health condition, problems with housing, or a lack of previous work experience. It fits in perfectly with The Body Shop’s commitment to being a caring and inclusive company and Ingeus’ mission to Enable Better Lives. The Body Shop chose to join forces with Ingeus after a highly successful partnership with our parent company, APM Group, in Australia.
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Page 6 JETS in Wigan help young people in their community
So, how does the partnership work in practice? In a nutshell, participants on Ingeus’ employment programmes are put forward for roles with The Body Shop. A pre-employment course for The Body Shop’s seasonal recruits ensures they’re ready to hit the ground running for the Christmas rush. To find out more, contact our employer services team, or if you’re in the area, we’ll be talking at the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition on the 9th November at Manchester Central.
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Don’t let type 2 diabetes creep up on you
Joanne, 58 from Lancashire, was never previously worried about being at risk of type 2 diabetes as she always thought she was active enough and ate well. After a routine blood test to test her iron levels, they also found her blood glucose reading elevated and in the high-risk range. Joanne explains, “I feel ashamed to say this but my initial perception of people who have diabetes are really overweight and couch potatoes, not me! Now I know how wrong I was after learning about the causes from this programme.” A keen rambler and camper van enthusiast, Joanne couldn’t have been more surprised to be told she was now in the high-risk range with a HBA1C score of 42. The programme helped Joanne to understand where her risk was coming from and after the very first session, this helped her decide her next steps. “I wasn’t sure why I was on the course to begin with and looking back I think I was in denial. The educators explained
Issue no.14 / October 2022
all the possible causes of Type 2 diabetes and then I understood what I needed to focus on and decided I was going to own it!” Like most of us, Joanne found lockdown tough and it really affected her confidence to get out and exercise. By attending the programme it has changed Joanne’s mindset to be more positive. “Covid really set me back and I thought I would struggle to get back to exercise. I now have more confidence to do things I thought I couldn’t do. I have a great routine at a ladies only gym and feel stronger than ever.” Joanne felt that one of the big factors that enabled her to get the most out of the programme was being part of a group, even though it was online and not in a classroom. Joanne said, “One of the most enjoyable parts of the programme was the group we had, we were all different, but all had the same goal and target and that was powerful. There was never any judgement from other members or the educators.” Throughout the pandemic the Healthier You programme has been delivered remotely and this had its benefits for Joanne when she was away when one of her appointments was due: “Even when I was away on holiday I took my laptop with me so I didn’t miss a session!”
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Over the course of the programme Joanne couldn’t believe the changes to her body losing a total of 18 pounds in weight and over 34 inches in total from her body measurements, with 7 of those coming from her waist. “I am not only doing this to prevent diabetes now, but also for my future health and what might happen. People are starting to notice the changes now and I can too.” Semi-retired Joanne has always enjoyed walking in the lake district and getting outdoors, recently engaged she feels this diagnosis came at just the right time to ensure that her future health is now controlled as best as possible. Joanne continued: “I am happier in life now. I have a great sense of achievement as well as the confidence to continue these changes long-term. I am happy with how I look which is a huge confidence boost. I can’t believe the changes in under 12 months and I am glad I found out I was at risk, and made these changes to my lifestyle before I got over 60. I don’t want age to hold me back.” Joanne’s message for anyone in a similar position is clear: “Don’t make the same mistake I did by assuming you are doing everything right. I would encourage people to have an open mind and give it a go and get your health checked regularly. It might just change your life like it did mine.”
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It’s time to talk about money It’s arguably more important than ever to be able to budget effectively and manage your own finances. However, it’s not always straightforward, and as we move into the colder months of the year and Christmas starts creeping closer, a lot of us are thinking about how we can save money. We spoke to Ingeus Senior Money Management Advisor, Parveen Akhtar, about her top tips for improving your financial wellbeing:
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Understand your money mindset
Create a budget
Incorporate a regular money date
Everyone has a unique attitude and beliefs about money. This is vital to understand as your money mindset drives the money-related decisions that you make each day and why you might act the way you do. Having a better understanding of this will enable you to challenge your approach so that you can develop better habits going forward.
Parveen recommends monitoring absolutely everything that you spend your money on for one month. This will give you greater clarity and highlight where you need to limit your spending and budget more, so that you can make more financially informed decisions.
On a weekly basis, you should look back at what you have spent your money on and then plan for the next seven days. This will help you feel more in control and confident about your finances.
You can watch the full video on our social media channels. Issue no.14 / October 2022
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out and about in Greater Manchester FutureYou proudly sponsored the Manchester Careers Fair on Friday 21st October, ready to help 18-24-year-olds take their next steps to career success! The careers fair offers people in Manchester the opportunity to speak to an abundance of organisations and employees about job vacancies.
If you want to find out more about how FutureYou can help young people in Greater Manchester, contact the team at futureyou@ingeus.co.uk. Meanwhile, the team was also on Unity Radio to reach out to young people not in education, employment, or training across Greater Manchester. The team answered your questions about what FutureYou is, how it can help young people and how to register for the programme. Unity Radio broadcasts dance and urban music across Greater Manchester to 30,000 weekly listeners and has recently launched a ‘New Talent Academy’ to help young people aged 15-18 to gain creative media experience.
Settle your sleep woes with Able Futures top tips Daylight Saving at the end of October saw our clocks fall back an hour which may well have knocked you off your rhythm!
Issue no.14 / October 2022
The changes in natural light can often unsettle our circadian rhythm – your body’s natural 24-hour cycle – causing many people’s sleep to be disrupted, leaving them feeling overtired and unrested. With the help of our Mental Health Specialists from Able Futures, we put together a short video on how
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people can make sure they get enough sleep. After all, getting enough sleep is vital as it improves brain performance, mood, and mental and physical health. You can watch the full video on our YouTube channel and social media platforms.
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Youth Voice Ambassadors gather to discuss key issues
Our NCS (National Citizen Service) team caught up with our Ingeus Youth Ambassadors in October to help shape future plans and conduct a review on what has and hasn’t gone well in the first year of the programme. Issue no.14 / October 2022
Our Youth Voice Ambassadors are a dynamic team of young people aged 16-24, coming together from across the country to influence change. The Ambassador programme is designed to give young people a platform to use their voice and to empower them to be better prepared for life and work. The group concluded that they want to do more social action projects in the future, have more face-to-face conversations and want to re-open applications so that we have a bigger group to create a louder voice and impact.
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They also agreed that they love having a space where they feel listened to and feel a part of something, they enjoy getting involved with workshops and learning more about Ingeus and our business. Kayshia Philips, NCS Changemaker, said: “I’m super proud to work for an organisation who really do believe and support in their employees - giving me the opportunity to bring ideas to reality and seeing change made by our future generation!” It was an exciting and productive session!
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JETS in Wigan help young people in their community
When planning their recent community day, the JETS team in Wigan decided that they wanted to do something that would positively benefit young people in their area, and so they decided to spend a day volunteering at Wigan Youth Zone. With the backing of Wigan Council and local businesses in the community, Wigan Youth Zone promotes the
Issue no.14 / October 2022
aspirations of young people in the region. It gives them a safe place to go where they are supported to achieve their dreams and develop real and achievable goals for the future. The JETS team arrived bright and early in their Ingeus polo tops and were keen to get involved in as much as possible! They were surprised by all the support which the facility offers, as when given a welcome tour they were shown the boxing rings, skate parks, climbing walls, pamper salon, and even baking classes. Getting stuck in, all the team took on different roles during the day which included them baking, refereeing air hockey, painting nails, and coaching a young football team. Mindful of the issues around money management for this age group, Ian Girvin from
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the Money Management Team also presented to a small group of young people how to prioritise their bills and avoid getting into debt. The team all agreed that the day was a huge success. Debra Lewis, Wigan Team Manager, said: “It was lovely to see just what is available in our community, how little the support is in terms of cost, and how we can also recommend this to our participants who are looking for further support. We were blown away by just how much support was out there for our younger participants - what an incredible place this is! From climbing walls to skate parks and beauty rooms to boxing rings, Wigan Youth Zone has it all. The staff are exceptional and can’t do enough for the youth of Wigan”.
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Over 400 job applications submitted at Restart Scheme careers fair
Our partnership with Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce saw a fantastic careers event for local residents on 4th October. Over 250 attendees from across Ingeus programmes met local employers to learn first-hand about the job opportunities available with them, resulting in more than 400 applications and 30 interviews. 18 participants have even secured employment since the event!
Issue no.14 / October 2022
Some interviews and job offers even happened on the day! It was great to see that lots of local employers also took part, including organisations such as Greater Manchester Police, Sainsburys and Oldham college. The likes of Staffline, Berkely Scott & Aspire were super popular with 40+ applications each! Ffion Owen, Employer Services Manager said: “What a great day we had with the Chamber of Commerce for our very first Ingeus exclusive Jobs fair in Greater Manchester! We pulled together and made this event a real success. We had excellent feedback from all our employers who attended and were keen on the next one.”
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Getting to know you... Jahzeal Kennedy, Personal Wellbeing Mentor in our Justice Division
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We asked Jahzeal some of life’s essential questions: Summer or Winter? Summer Chocolate or sweets? Sweets Night or morning? Night City or countryside? City Cats or dogs?
This month, we’re putting Jahzeal Kennedy, from the Personal Wellbeing team in our Justice Division, in the spotlight. Jahzeal tells us more about why he loves what he does: “My role as a Personal Wellbeing mentor is to work with people to improve their wellbeing, and signpost to other organisations and interventions to help if we are unable to. I get real satisfaction from helping people because I have lived experience of the life that they are living - I like to think of myself as a catalyst for change for others. Coming from where I was, I now realise that change is possible for all of us. I love knowing that we can make a difference in helping someone to change for the better, and in turn change the world we live in.”
Issue no.14 / October 2022
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Dogs Dressed up or casual? Dressed up Phone calls or emails? Phone calls Books or films? Both! Night out or night in? A balance of the two Holidays or home comforts? Home comforts on holiday
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